Last Order
by Snickerick
Summary: AU. ...In the end, what does it mean to be a human?


Okay, so first off I want to say that **this is extremely AU**. This doesn't have almost anything to do with the original series. And I decided to post this because today is my Birthday ^^

**Warning: This fic will be rated M for a reason: this will include lots of bad language, adult themes and violence.**

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

Numbers and letters rolled on the screens steadily; the indefinite codes that only the experts could understand filled them and marked everything. Every reaction, every single heartbeat was seen on the monitors under the observation of the scientist group.

"Sir, the exposing may begin," one of the assistants reported to the scientist in charge.

The scientist, a man named Hojo, stepped forward and fixed the position of his round glasses. He was a man with a shabby white smock, bad posture and oily black hair tied to a ponytail. If anything, he loved science; he lived for science. The ambition he had towards researches reached the ultimate limits along his newest project. He did not care how many had to suffer for it; he did not care how many souls and lives he had to sacrifice in order to succeed. The only thing that mattered to Hojo was to have his desires towards science satisfied, his never-ending thirst to be finally quenched.

"Good. This one seems to be exceptional. He is strong, perfect for the purposes and desires we are intending to carry out," he nodded his head slowly, which expressed his satisfaction. The first two specimens of this project had been failures; they had died to the poisoning due to the counter-reaction in their bodies towards the unknown material.

The assistant was silent for a moment, "Sir, we are really doing this, aren't we?" she asked a little hesitantly. She clutched the papers in her hands tightly towards her chest and felt her own heartbeat increasing. The woman looked over her shoulder towards a table where a small human lied, tied to the monitors around him.

Hojo was getting slightly impatient, "Of course we are! This is what we have been doing for the whole ten years," he spread his arms and let them fall again to the sides. He did not understand his assistant's sudden hesitancy. They had worked for a long time to get into this point; they simply could not back off now, even though this time, the specimen was a baby boy. "In this case, I am positive we shall finally succeed."

"But he is a newborn. We don't know if he…," the woman started, but the head scientist cut her off before she had the chance to bring out her doubts.

"Due to the fact he is a newborn, he has the greatest opportunity to survive and adapt into it," Hojo waved off, clearly disgruntled by the fact his group did not fully agree with him. "The previous specimens have all been adults; fully grown up men. If we exposed a baby, his genes will reconcile to it by the time he grows up."

The woman nodded, "I understand that, sir." she avoided the director's gaze; she did not want her eyes to reveal her. "But why are we really doing this, sir? Is this all really necessary?"

Hojo took a couple of steps forward and examined the monitors showing every detail of the processing. "You do know my passion towards science," he started when she took her place beside him. He frowned slightly as if something had suddenly irritated him greatly. "My first project under the President's command was to create a clone of the Avatara; to make a biological weapon for the military. I worked on it with great passion, I gave my soul to it," Hojo gave her a significant glance which she avoided by looking down at her shoes. "You were there, Lucrecia, you do know it. After my failure with 'the Avatar'-project, the President came to me with a new request. To find a way to make the soldiers better. But I want more. So much more," a greedy, wicked smile spread onto his lips as he spoke. Lucrecia could see the ambitious glow in his eyes, and the fear in her heart rose once again. However, the only thing she did was just a nod.

"By exposing a human to raw mako, I want to create super-soldiers," Hojo clenched his fist, still smiling widely. "This genetic manipulation will make the recovery system extremely high, also giving extra high speed, strength, agility, sight and hearing ability. This is a whole new direction to the human race!"

Lucrecia cleared her throat, "With all of these attributes… Are you sure they will be humans anymore?" she inquired with a bit shaking voice. Down at her stomach, she felt a little ill while reminiscing all the previous specimens. The first two had turned into monsters, suffered and eventually died in great pain. Even now, she could hear the grisly screams in her ears, and the horror images haunted her mind. She could not help but look at one of the doors on the right; the previous specimen of the project 'X-0' was kept in captive behind it. The poor man would not be as lucky as the baby on the table, and she shivered at the thought. The poor man would be exposed to the material until he died. She could not bear the thought. Even though she had lost her heart to science, this was something she could not agree with. This was not science; this was pure torture.

Hojo stopped for a brief moment at her question, then an evil smirk took place on his withered face, "No, they will not," he replied, his voice was eerily enthusiastic. "They will be much more than that. One day, the army will be filled with my super-soldiers. Just as the President wants it to be."

Lucrecia swallowed hard, but her throat was dry. She could not believe that for all these years, she had supported this madness; she had given her heart to it. She was witnessing the ultimate insanity of science that she could think of, but she knew that in the future, science would taint itself even more.

Hojo turned back to the screens after having said what he had to say, "Now, then…Shall we begin?" he probed from another assistants. This was what he had truly been waiting for ever since the unfortunate failure of the Avatar. This time, he would succeed. He would give the President the super-soldier he wanted in his army; and by that, Hojo would engrave his name into the history being the father of this superhuman race. Nothing could go wrong anymore. He had sacrificed ten years making the researches and experiments; he had the perfect formulas and codes. Nothing would stop him anymore.

One of the assistants approached the head scientist and handed a squirt and a tube of glowing mako inside it. Hojo looked at it with craving in his eyes, he was eager to put it inside that beautiful baby. Yes, _yes_, it was finally becoming true. The scientist could hear his own heartbeat ringing in his ears as he walked over to the table. A baby boy with jet-black hair lied on his back, his immature eyes examining the ceiling enthusiastically.

Hojo smiled his rather askew smile. Yes, this baby was exceptional, indeed. He showed a strong nature, even though he had lived only for six hours by that time. He acted nothing like a regular newborn, but that only made him perfect. Perfect for this purpose, perfect to fulfil his desire. He let his other index finger run down the boy's soft cheek, and the baby squirmed due to the cold touch. The fresh tattoo marking 'X-03' adorned the smooth skin of the baby's left arm just below the shoulder. Hojo was contented: everything was going just like he had planned.

"Now, then… This will hurt…" Hojo cooed to the child while drawing out the prepared squirt. He stretched the baby's right arm and exposed the blood vessel at the crook of the forearm. Tapping it a bit, he smirked widely before pushing the needle through the vein and putting the venomous material into an innocent newborn's body.

_X-0 Report no. 35_

_4th Month 17th Day_

_A newborn is being exposed to one oz of mako. Awaiting for reaction._

_Coded 'X-03'; born April 17th in 583._

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><p><em>X-0 Report no. 37<em>

_4th Month 18th Day_

_Description of the detected effect:_

_X-03: Strong durability towards discomfort and stimulation._

_A change in the eyes detected: have turned into glowing._

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><p><em>X-0 Report no. 39<em>

_4th Month 19th Day_

_Concerning the reaction:_

_X-03: Has strong tolerance on mako. _

_No poisoning detected._

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><p><em>X-0 Report no. 53<em>

_4th Month 23rd Day_

_Other:_

_X-03: DNA has successfully reconciled to mako._

_Ready to be adopted._

The President stood behind his desk facing the window that replaced the wall. His office stood in the highest floor of the massive headquarter of his company that soared towards the dark sky, and beneath it lied the large city of Midgar. Eight reactors circled and isolated the city, and kept the power in there; it was like a prison. The President watched his city proudly. _He_ was the one who dominated the whole world by his electric power corporation, also known as Shinra Inc. He and his father had brought the comfortable life to the people by using mako as a simple fossil fuel. But now that his late father had been gone for years, he was the one taking the credit. He ruled this corporation, the army, the _whole_ world.

His father had come with the idea to use the planet's energy sources on everyday life. They had built a reactor to extract and process mako from the Lifestream, a river of life that circled their planet and gave life to the world and everything in it. It had been the turning point in the world's industry, since before that everything had been run by oil and coal. The Shinra Electric Power Corporation had soon gained reputation and assets, and spread into a global corporation, now being in charge of everything in their small planet.

Of course, there were those who did not resign to their dominion, but having the army under their command had made things much easier. At first, some nationalities had tried to make a revolution and fought for the sake of their homes, but in the end it had been nothing but vain. The Shinra Inc. had eventually built reactors all over the planet, not just around Midgar. Yet, there still remained those who were against their purposes, but the corporation would use their power to try and stop anybody. Everyone who dared to get in their way would be eliminated.

President Shinra let his glance roam the dark sky above the city. There was no day or night for Midgar. The citizens lived under a plate due to the too polluted air. The Shinra Inc. soared above it all; the headquarter was like a massive skyscraper, too high to be affected by the filths laying beneath it. He chuckled as he recalled all those complaints about 'environmentally unfriendly energy' and something of the like. The citizens kept whining about the harms of mako, being similar to radioactive materials, yet they still used his cheap energy to their everyday business. People were so hypocritical on what came to their principles and actions. Most of them had even supported his father Sozin while he first founded the Shinra Electric Power Corporation and brought its amenities to them. They had welcomed the easily processed energy happily into their homes, yet now they had doubts in their hearts towards the service.

The President's eyes moved from reactor to reactor. Between them, under the plate, lied eight towns which formed the city of Midgar. Sadly, no one in the city remembered them anymore, so the Shinra Inc. had named them simply as Sectors. Sector 1, Sector 2, Sector 3... Each of them had their own reactor sucking the force of the Lifestream, supporting the corporation's world-wide authority. He almost felt sorry for the people living under the plate in the slums. But only almost; they deserved to live like dogs after turning their backs towards his company.

The President was interrupted by the knock on the door. "Come in," he ordered. Since he practically owned the world, he did not have to apply anyone. He sat behind his desk once the door was opened and a very familiar man entered the clean office. "Ah, Professor Hojo. I have been expecting for you." he crossed his hands on the table. Indeed, this was what he had been waiting for years. "I assume you have good news for me."

It was not a question; it was a clear statement. Hojo nodded his head and wriggled his gaunt hands. "Indeed, sir. I have excellent news," he smiled condescendingly and approached the huge desk. President Shinra leaned backwards on his comfortable chair waiting for the head scientist to go on. "At last, the project 'X-0' has born fruit. After ten years, we have finally succeeded on the genetic manipulation to fulfil our purposes."

A satisfied smile spread on the President's lips and he clapped his hand, "Well done, well done…" he smiled benevolently and stroked his whiskers. This was a day of victory for the both of them: Hojo as a new breakthrough in science, and him to eventually get a unique elite soldier in his troops. Indeed, the future surely seemed bright, though the landscape was dark as the night.

"What are you going to do to the boy?" President Shinra asked as he brought a bottle of champagne from the glassy closet next to the door. He had no interest in the boy until he had grown up.

At this point, Hojo began to wriggle his hands once again, "…You are not going to raise him, are you, sir?" he probed a bit hesitantly.

The President turned to look at the scientist rather furiously. "Absolutely not!" he snarled. He felt the blood in his veins starting to boil at the thought of raising the child on his own. "The boy has caused the greatest grief in my life. I will not rise him as I already made clear," his words were filled with wrath which made Hojo to take a step back. The President relaxed a bit, continuing on with a diplomatic voice, "He is your son now, Hojo; I only wish to use him in my elite fighting force. I thought we agreed on giving him as an adoptive child."

The head doctor nodded, "Indeed, we did. But I only wanted to make sure you have not changed your mind."

The President laughed. To Hojo, it sounded somewhat insane and forced. "What could possibly change my mind? I already have an heir to continue my legacy. I do not need another, especially one that is genetically manipulated," he took a long swig of the champagne. Painful thoughts about his wife losing her life in the exchange of that child's life haunted the President's mind, but he quickly dismissed them. The boy would eventually pay him back, he assured himself. The boy would eventually prove the exchange worthwhile; otherwise he would suffer.

"You may leave," President Shinra addressed to the director of his laboratories. Taking another swig, he added, "And make sure the boy will make his life advantageous."

Hojo turned to make his leave, "I will." But inside his head, the scientist thought: _Be careful what you say, sir. This boy could turn out to be the end of you…_

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><p>In the small village of Gongaga, a foothill town at the Western land, lived a young and happy couple who had just recently got married. Little did Mr. and Mrs. Strife know that soon their life would come to a turning point. One day, they received a message that they had been chosen to a task: raising a child. At first they had thought it was merely a joke, but after seeing the official logo of the Shinra Inc. on the letter, they soon learned it was far from it. The Shinra Inc. had the data of every citizen in the world, and the investigation programs had picked the young couple over all the other families. The purpose of their task was what surprised and confused them the most. They were ordered to <em>raise a child<em>. Of course they were delighted to have a little baby to be loved and taken care of. Why, they did not know, but they were told to raise him as their own and report about everything once in a month.

The people from Shinra Inc. arrived by a helicopter with the baby. The Strifes recognized it belonged to the Turks, the agent group of the corporation. A young woman stepped out of the chopper carrying the swaddle and was followed by men in black suits.

"My name is Lucrecia Crescent, from the Shinra Electric Power Corporation," the woman introduced herself as the Turks took their places beside her. She handed the little child over to Mrs. Strife. "I assume we have everything settled."

"Yes," the couple assured and looked down at the baby with warm smiles.

Lucrecia smiled and gave the last stroke at the top of the boy's head, "Well, then… Take a good care of him. And most importantly: love him," she said gently and took her leave, the Turks never leaving her side.

As the years came by, Mr. and Mrs. Strife learned that their son was anything but a basic average boy. Not only the glowing eyes, but everything he did: he was a master in sports, for example. He never got hurt, he was a way faster than anyone else in the village. He could spot things and details far better and his hearing ability was unbelievably accurate. He never stayed still; he had the energy to run a reactor on his own, so to speak. The adaptive parents often found themselves speaking with the teacher about their son's…exceptional behavior.

Even though Mr. and Mrs. Strife had to admit to each other that their son was not an ordinary child, it did not diminish their love for him. Every day he came up with new things he had learned and found exciting. He was a boy who wanted to experience everything in the world. He was the boy who had every child in the village looking up to him, wishing they would be as brave and famous. Not to mention his intelligence and ability to solve problematic situations. And even if he did something that was not proper, he never get caught in action.

At the time he turned thirteen, he started to talk about joining SOLDIER, an elite fighting force of the Shinra Electric Power Corporation. Indeed, SOLDIERs were popular: there were only a few of them, but every one of them had engraved their names into the history. They were living legends, and President Shinra used them only for special missions that require the greatest use of skill and strength.

"Everyone is willing to get in there, Mom!" he insisted and then showed an article from the daily newspaper. "Once I'll get into SOLDIER, you'll be able to read about me every day!"

Mrs. Strife only smiled and ruffled her son's messy jet-black hair. She knew that day would come when she had to give him up to SOLDIER.

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><p>A coal-black helicopter flew over a train that made its way towards Midgar. It chased the vehicle, and threw the highlights at it.<p>

"_Wutai troops have hijacked Shinra Express MK93 II"_, a male voice coming from the radiophone informed. _"The train is currently headed to Midgar Sector 8. A SOLDIER operative will be inserted to neutralize the situation."_ the chopper lowered downwards a bit, but it had to gain highness again. _"We are to proceed as scheduled. Commence mission in…,"_ a young man dressed in a uniform and a mask covering his eyes waited for the order to begin. _"Three…Two…One…Mark. Begin mission!" _He stood up and approached the doorway that opened up to him.

"_Operative is ready for insertion." _the male voice pulled an over and out.

The draught blew the young man's hair as he looked down at the train beneath him.

"The train has been overrun by Wutai troops," another male voice, this time coming from the chopper itself, informed. It was calm, and held nothing of the metallic sound that had come from the radiophone, "Eliminate them and regain control of the train."

The young man turned to look at his instructor and smirked, "Roger!"

He jumped smoothly from the helicopter and landed onto the roof of the train effortlessly. This was his very own mission. This was the chance to become even greater SOLDIER. And he was willing to fulfil the task perfectly. Grinning by the other corner of his mouth, he sprinted forward avoiding swiftly the bullets shot at him. He made his way towards his destination: the end of the car where the troops were more on less waiting for him.

He soon caught a sight of them climbing onto the roof. They were still far, but he could see them perfectly. As he approached the troops, he drew his sword from the small holder on his back, "Come and get it!" he sprinted through them, dealing with every single warrior in a blink of an eye. Now he had to undo the car from the train, and his mission would be completed. But he received a little surprise: there were more Wutai trash climbing out of the train.

He did not want to waste his time on them any longer: he would let the regular soldiers deal with the remaining group. He jumped agilely over to the next car, and separated them by his sword.

Watching the car leaving far behind, he drew out the radiophone from his pocket, "Ozai Strife, SOLDIER 2nd Class; mission complete."

He had done it. He had made his way to the 1st rank of SOLDIER. He was not a 3rd or even 2nd Class SOLDIER anymore, but 1st. It felt so good. For all his life, he had been waiting for this. Now he was one of the legends. No, not one of them; he would become even greater than any of them.

His instructor had been so proud after he had regained the train. "I've always said you have the greatest potential of being a 1st Class SOLDIER," the older man had smiled condescendingly and patted the young man's shoulder like a father. "Only 20-years-old, and already have the skill what you need."

Ozai grinned at this. He had never thought getting into the 1st class would be this easy. Or then he really was 'exceptional' as they said. Nevertheless, he was contended with his succession and would totally enjoy every bit of it.

However, he did not have the chance to celebrate it for long.

"Ozai Strife, SOLDIER 1st Class?" men in white smocks came to him. "Follow us."

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><p>He had no idea where they were taking him. For all he could tell from the view of the helicopter's window, they were flying far away from Midgar. To Gongaga, perhaps? No, he certainly did not think they were going to take him to meet his parents. For another mission? Then why they had not said anything? He was getting rather frustrated as he sat in the there doing nothing. One thing was for sure: the Turks were the escorts once again. So, this had to be something that concerned the Shinra Inc., right?<p>

There was one thing he found rather strange: no one was talking anything. Not even the Turks in the cockpit; he could have heard them if they had. He leaned backwards and groaned in pure frustration. He had never liked traveling, or more likely, he had never liked sitting still. He needed action, he was born to exercise. But just sitting on his ass slowly drove him crazy with all the energy running through his veins; it was unbearable.

Finally, the helicopter started to land. When Ozai stepped out of it, he immediately recognized the place.

It was Nibelheim, the small town where he had been accomplishing a mission three years ago. The place had not changed a bit. It was like he had been there only yesterday on his task.

He did not have the time to reminiscent any more, because the men in white gestured him to follow them. They headed towards the Shinra Mansion, a large building in the Northern area of Nibelheim. Ozai could not tell why, but he did not like the situation at all. Despite the bad feeling in the back of his head, he followed the men without asking any questions. Maybe it was a secret mission and they could not talk about it before reaching their destination? Who knew, but still his instincts were against the whole idea while they descended the downstairs leading to a basement.

Ozai's eyes widened as soon as they reached the basement. It was actually a laboratory with large bookshelves. Bewildered, he glanced around, not understanding at all. What the fuck was going on there?

A rather gaunt man in a shabby white smock spread his arms approached the young man. "Ah, finally. We have been expecting you, Strife." he looked extremely enthusiastic; it was like he had met a dear friend after a long time.

Ozai frowned a bit: he recognized the man from pictures. He was Professor Hojo, the director of the Shinra Inc. laboratories and science researches. But what the hell the head scientist would want with him? What did he mean by 'expecting him'?

Hojo gestured towards a large table on the right side of the large room. "Lay yourself on the table." It was a command, and Ozai surely did not miss it. Hojo walked over to the table and turned to look at the young man who still remained in his stance. "Well?"

Ozai hesitated. He did not have any idea what the fucking hell was going around, but he also knew Hojo was under the command of the Shinra Inc. Maybe this was a routine for all of the SOLDIERs that had made it to the 1st rank. Also, there was the fact he could be kicked out of SOLDIER for disobeying one of the directors of the corporation. In the end, it seemed that he did not have a choice.

Slowly, he walked over to the table and they gave him a white sleeveless shirt. When he laid himself onto the table, the bright lights almost blinded him. They burned his eyes, and he had to narrow them due to the pain.

Hojo seemed to be very satisfied with something that Ozai did not know. "Ah, I did not remember how nice glow his eyes have…" he snickered making the young SOLDIER frown even more. The man was crazy, apparently.

Suddenly, his wrists and ankles were locked to the table by cuffs. "H-hey, what you think you're doing?" Ozai asked. The situation was really getting onto his nerves, he did not like it at all. He wanted to get out. He felt like he couldn't breathe, like the air was starting to run out of the laboratory.

One of the assistants handed a squirt to Hojo. The Professor examined the object as if it had been a very valuable treasure. Then he fixed his eyes back on Ozai and a wily smirk reached the scientist's lips.

"This brings back memories…" Hojo cooed and wiped his hand across the 'X-03' tattoo on Ozai's skin. "Still looking fresh like ever…"

The SOLDIER gave a glance at his tattoo. He had never really paid attention to it. It had always been a part of him, so he had got used to it. His parents had told him that it had been given to him in the hospital when he had been born. He had been contented with that. All the kids in Gongaga had admired his tattoo, because it was 'cool'. So, he actually liked his tattoo. But now that man in front of him talked inscrutable things.

Hojo held up the squirt, his smile growing even more, "Now, this will hurt…"

The pain running through his veins was like pure lightning. It spread all over his body, eating every cell in him, swallowing him whole. It hurt, it stabbed, it burned. All those things and much more at the same time. The blood roared in his ears, and he heard someone screaming. Was it his own scream or someone else's? He could not tell. There was also a hollow laugh in the background but he did not mind it. Soon, everything went black.

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><p>AN: At first, I was going to do this featuring Zuko & co., but then... Well, me and TrueThinker happen to like their parents more, so it was time for another Ozai-starring fic for me. Also, TrueThinker has been a great supporter for me to start with this fic in the first place ^^ I can tell, this fic will push the boundaries of Avatar-AU big time. As I said to TrueThinker: an AU to the limit ;)

Also, I haven't forgotten about 'Of Blood and Honor', in case you have waited for it. I'm having technical problems with it, and sadly my stupid computer has lost some of the chapters and I have to write them again -.- I will do it, but right now I'm not feeling like it. (My humblest apologies if you are waiting for the next chapter..)

Once again, I don't own anything this is based on.


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